AK vs a UTG opening range: Equity & Strategy
Ace-King (AK) has 56.6% equity all-in preflop against a UTG opening range — 202 combos, 15.2% of all starting hands. It wins 53.4% of runouts outright, loses 40.1% and chops 6.4%. These are exact figures from full board enumeration against every unblocked combo in the range, not a simulation.
| Side | Win | Chop | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| AK | 53.4% | 6.4% | 56.6% |
| a UTG opening range | 40.1% | 6.4% | 43.4% |
The range this is computed against
Under the gun a competent 6-max regular opens roughly the top 15% of hands: every pocket pair, the suited aces (nut-flush and wheel blockers), suited broadways down to J9s, the strongest suited connectors, and only AJo+ / KQo offsuit — offsuit hands realise their equity badly from the worst seat at the table.
UTG open — 202 combos, 15.2% of all starting hands: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22, AKs, AQs, AJs, ATs, A9s, A5s, A4s, A3s, KQs, KJs, KTs, QJs, QTs, JTs, J9s, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, AKo, AQo, AJo, KQo
After card removal, 170 of those 202 combos are still available (32 are blocked by the cards AK holds). AK is ahead of 96 and behind 74.
Hardest parts of the range for AK
| Hand | Combos | AK equity |
|---|---|---|
| AA | 3 | 8.2% |
| KK | 3 | 31.1% |
| TT | 6 | 43.8% |
| 6 | 43.9% | |
| JJ | 6 | 43.9% |
Easiest parts of the range for AK
| Hand | Combos | AK equity |
|---|---|---|
| KQo | 9 | 75.0% |
| AQo | 9 | 74.7% |
| AJo | 9 | 74.3% |
| KQs | 3 | 70.7% |
| KJs | 3 | 70.4% |
Put AK up against a UTG opening range — 202 combos, 15.2% of all hands — and the exact answer is 56.6% equity: 53.4% outright wins, 40.1% losses and 6.4% chops. Your own two cards remove 32 of those combos before the flop is even dealt — a blocker effect this number already accounts for, because every combo containing one of your exact cards is stripped out of the range first. You are ahead of 96 of the 170 combos you can still be facing (56%), which is what a 56.6% number actually looks like hand by hand.
The range behind this number is not a guess. Under the gun a competent 6-max regular opens roughly the top 15% of hands: every pocket pair, the suited aces (nut-flush and wheel blockers), suited broadways down to J9s, the strongest suited connectors, and only AJo+ / KQo offsuit — offsuit hands realise their equity badly from the worst seat at the table. AK's worst spots in it are AA (8.2%), KK (31.1%) and TT (43.8%) — and its best are KQo (75.0%), AQo (74.7%) and AJo (74.3%). Across the whole range AK's equity swings from 8.2% at the bottom to 75.0% at the top — the single 56.6% headline is the combo-weighted average of all of it.
Facing a UTG opening range, 56.6% is a raise-or-fold number, not a call-and-see number: AK is in front of the average opener but not by enough to want a bloated pot out of position. Against 15.2% of hands, you are priced in against a pot-sized bet (which needs about 33%).
AK vs UTG open FAQ
What is AK's equity against a UTG opening range?
AK has 56.6% equity all-in preflop against a UTG opening range — it wins 53.4% of runouts outright, loses 40.1% and chops 6.4%. The range holds 202 combos (15.2% of all hands); AK blocks 32 of them, leaving 170 live. This is exact full board enumeration, not a simulation.
Which hands in a UTG opening range beat AK?
AK is behind 74 of the 170 live combos and ahead of the other 96. The worst matchups are AA (8.2%), KK (31.1%) and TT (43.8%); its best are KQo (75.0%), AQo (74.7%) and AJo (74.3%). Every figure is exact, computed against that hand's unblocked combos only.
What hands are in a UTG opening range?
36 hand classes and 202 combos — 15.2% of the 1,326 possible starting hands. By combo count it is 39% pocket pairs (13 pairs, 78 combos), 38% suited hands (19 classes, 76 combos) and 24% offsuit hands (4 classes, 48 combos). That shape is why AK runs at 56.6% against it rather than against a random hand.
Does AK do better against a wider or a tighter range?
Wider, almost always. AK has 64.5% equity against a loose-passive calling range (50.5% of hands) but 46.1% against a 4-betting range (3.2%). Equity against a range is mostly a question of how many weak hands the range still contains — which is why the same holding can be a monster against a button open and a fold against a 4-bet.
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